Are You Listening?
Are You Listening? is the 1st track on Area 11's second EP Underline. Cassandra During several parts of the song, a feminine synthesized voice can be faintly heard singing alongside Sparkles*. When wearing headphones, this is most clearly heard through the right speaker. The voice is either intentional, likely Cassandra, or potentially just an unintentional side effect of some of the audio processing. The lyrics where this occurs are in bold below. A pitch-isolated version of the song makes it easier to hear this voice. Lyrics All aboard this sinking ship No business here it's just relationships Derived Contrived Another Mind Homogenised! Should this mean more to me? Just join the tribe and feel accepted But cool don't come for free That much was expected, forever discontented The rope that pulled me from the pit Now hangs around my neck Is this the clue you wanted? Too cryptic for the rest Play the part of the victim if it puts your mind at ease Put all the blame on me Close your eyes And listen please! So what you feel, is it nostalgia or love? Tell me now, are you really listening? When everybody tells you to stop, And that you’re never good enough Tell me now, are you really listening? Whoa oh oh Whoa oh oh Are you listening? Are you listening? Whoa oh oh Whoa oh oh Are you listening? Are you listening? Reach out for help, and she lets you down So gild your pockets, we'll watch you drown A burnt taste A real waste A sticky stain we'll soon erase Cause this means more to me And we'll still look to the lights in the sky It's hard when all I see Another ceiling I don't recognize With no concern, and deathless turn Now we take control So what you feel, is it nostalgia or love? Tell me now, are you really listening? When everybody tells you to stop, And that you’re never good enough Tell me now, are you really listening? Whoa oh oh Whoa oh oh Are you listening? Are you listening? Whoa oh oh Whoa oh oh Are you listening? Are you listening? As we pass by tonight We fade into hindsight The time slips off our lives Can this be realized? So what you feel, is it nostalgia or love? Tell me now, are you really listening? When everybody tells you to stop, And that you’re never good enough Tell me now, are you really listening? Are you listening? Whoa oh oh Whoa oh oh Are you listening? Are you listening? Whoa oh oh Whoa oh oh Are you listening? Are you listening! (Backing: This was the night, and this was the place. This was the moment, this was the moment) Trivia * The live lyrics differ greatly in some places from the final version. They were also changed between the first two times it was performed. * Sparkles* posted a small part of the lyrics on Medium * In the instagram accounts of Sparkles* and Area 11 they uploaded parts of the chorus, you can check them here and here. * In the video the lyrics that fade out make the phrase "But see, what you feel as we pass by tonight fades. The time slips off our lives. Can this be realised?" This may be a hidden message in the video. Lyric Analysis No Business here it's just relationships-'Whatever is going on is without the support of the Inertia Corporation.' Derived - Something has been modified/obtained, such as information from the clues provided. Another mind homogenized(made uniform) - Hive mind? Should this mean more to me? - Uncertainty if something is important or not? Just join the tribe and feel accepted - Cassandra is trying to act like a normal person?/social pressure? But cool don't come for free - Being accepted into society means losing something maybe part of yourself, someone you care about or something important That much was expected -''' literal/'''Expectations were met? Forever discontented - Unknown '''- Maybe related to "and the seraphim were discontented" from In The Blind''' The rope that pulled me from the pit now hangs around my neck - The Inertia Corporation saved Cassandra from the destruction of the Echoplane and now force her to work for them in return?/Some kind of betrayal or double-crossing/ restrictions that saved them before are now holding them back? Is this the clue you wanted? - Someone or something is trying to give someone else a secret message? Too cryptic for the rest? - Somebody else wouldn't be able to understand the hidden message. Play the part of the victim if it puts your mind at ease -''' Someone feels like they were attacked or betrayed when it's not 100% true?/ Possibly related to "Something I couldn't see, something I couldn't see Until I changed my point of view" from Knightmare / Frame?' Put all the blame on me -' (see above line)/ Person feels responsible or guilty?' Close your eyes, Listen please - '''Someone needs to stop watching what's happening and listen to what somebody has to say?' So what you feel, is it nostalgia or love? - Is a feeling still alive or are they holding on to something that should be gone Tell me now -''' filler' Are you really listening - ?? When everybody tells you to stop, and that you're never good enough - '''Likely a reference to The Tape -- most of the lyrics describing how someone is "better than you" and that "you are obsolete."' Tell me now - filler Are you really listening - Possibly the reason for the question, "Can you hear me?" in System;Start. Reach out for help and she lets you down - Possibly referring to The Tape: "You have failed and you can’t see."/Reference to Vectors "Reach out your hand to catch me, reach out your hand and you tear me apart"/ Reference to Override A "I won't let you down" So gild your pockets we'll watch you drown -''' InertiaCorp is in it for the money, but that desire might be their downfall. Gild vs. Guild? A play on words? Does this have to do with money, or the DH group?' A burnt taste -' Possibly a reference to digital burning, a process of recording data on a recordable disc (it may be worth noting that this is a digital format). It could also reference CRT monitors, which, when left inactive for too long, leave an image burned into the screen. Another reference might be to how certain electronic components "burn out" when given too much power. / This could have something to do with literal fire, such as the destruction of the Echoplane.' A real waste - '''Again, possibly referencing electronic components being useless after burning out. (NOTE: Assuming the lines are related, this is contradicted in the next line, as electrical components tend not to be sticky.)/Reference to Tokyo House party "And you know, that it's such a waste, because I hate the bitter taste"' A sticky stain we'll soon erase-''' "Sticky" could be something recurring. "Stain" could be something unsightly or degrading in value.' Cause this means more to me - '''One thing is more important than another' And we'll still look to the Lights in the sky - Cassandra is waiting for a sign from space? / All The Lights In The Sky is still relevant? But it's hard when all I see, Another ceiling I don't recognize - It could be that these statements are unrelated./A ceiling blocks out the sky, so it could be related to previous line (Meaning that something is stopping someone from seeing the lights in the sky?)/For some reason because of new information that has been released it is hard too see old information that has not been uncovered yet./A reference to Neon Genesis Evangelion. A show which itself contained many referances to Christianity and Judaism. In the other two songs in this EP mention the "'''Seraphim"(In The Blind) and "Ghenna"(OverrideA), which are both Jewish concepts.' With no concern, and deathless turn - '''InertiaCorp is doing these things without concern for the consequences?' So now we take control - Cassandra (and others?) are rebelling against InertiaCorp? As we pass by tonight, we fade into hindsight - '''''As new technology arises, old technology becomes obsolete and forgotten? the time slips off our lives - Without proper maintenance/Without the intended technology, the signal gets drowned out by the noise? Can this be realized? -'Will people ever realize that life is too short? "This was the night, and this was the place. This was the moment, this was the moment." - This is very similar to "This was the moment, this was the place, this was the night that everything changed." (Cassandra Pt. II) The use of echo here could be to emphasize that crucial something happened "at this moment." Also, "moment" could refer to a physical time or a place in a song. Category:Lyric Analysis Category:Music Category:Underline Category:Area 11 Category:Song Category:Lyrics